Travel Guiri: Extremadura

A two and a half hour drive from Madrid, Monfragüe National Park is the home of the griffon vultures - 80 pairs apparently; as well as a single pair of black vultures. However, trying to pick out which might have been a "black vulture" amidst the hundreds of other vultures wheeling around the sky, all of them looking pretty black when silhouetted against the harsh sunlight, was next to impossible - at least for an amateur like me.

I'd been brought there by a friend - another guiri, and a dedicated bird photographer. He was determined to get some good shots of rare birds. While he waited patiently for them to come close enough, I simply drew some of the majestic scenery of the park, such as the rocky peak where most of the vultures seem to make their nests.

When it comes to birds though, my favourite are the storks. They're big, they stay still for long periods of time, and they're everywhere. In Spain, a church tower without a stork nesting in it is a pretty sorry excuse for a tower.